Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ok, so this isn’t
exactly terrible in the Things that Are/Aren’t Good For You department.Full of good summer berries, and there’s not
a ton of sugar.But there is a stick of
butter in there, so it won’t win any low-fat awards.I made this for breakfast, by the way.

This was partly an experiment
to see how well it would hold up over 24 hours, since I was looking for
something to add to my catering repertoire.I decided to sprinkle the crust with a bit of vanilla sugar before
topping it with berries, and this seemed to do a great job as a barrier between
the juiciness of the berries and the crust.And of course you can go crazy with your fillings here.I opted for blackberries and strawberries
because I have a sea of blackberry brambles pushing on my back fence, and it’s
a constant battle to keep them from overtaking the yard.So this was my reward for having to wade
through thorns and hack down runners on a too-warm day.If I had been more ambitious, I would have
topped it with some lemon curd, but instead I finished up a container of
vanilla bean ice cream.

Ok, so you need to
forget the ice cream if you’re going for a more healthy alternative.

In a mixing bowl,
combine the flour, salt and 1 tsp sugar.Add the butter cubes and cut in with a pastry blender until the largest
butter pieces are about pea sized.Stir
in ice water just until dough begins to come together.Dump mixture onto floured surface (will still
be crumbly) and knead lightly just until it comes together.Roll into a circle about a foot in diameter.Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper and sprinkle with the 2 Tbs of sugar.

In same mixing bowl,
combine the berries, zest, sugar and 1 Tbs flour.Mound this mixture in the center of the
dough, leaving 3 – 4” all around.Brush
the exposed edges of the pie dough with a little water.Bring the dough up, partially covering the
berry mixture and ‘pleating’ it where it comes together.Press slightly to get a good seal.

Place in oven and bake
30 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the berry mixture is bubbly.Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly
before serving.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Soon I’m going to have
to stop with all of this healthy nonsense and get back to my usual,
butter-laden dishes.But I did this one
a while back, and it’s been languishing in my ‘unposted’ pile for too long
(with many others), so I thought I’d post.

You may (or may not)
notice that the recipe calls for black beans when the photo, clearly, is
missing them.I know I intended to use
them (for a catering job), and I can’t for the life of me remember why they
were left out.But then, I don’t like
beans, so it’s not like they’re the first thing that pop into my head when
raiding the pantry.

Also, in addition to
the limes called for to be used in the dressing, I tossed my avocado cubes with
a bit more of the juice to help keep them from browning.I also read somewhere that if you’ll run the
flesh of a newly cut avocado under cold water, it will stall the browning
process.I can’t say definitively that
this works, although my experience is that it does seem to help, at least.As a general rule in our house, avocados don’t
stay around long enough to go brown, anyway.

If you don’t want to
use quinoa here (although I’m getting more and more enamored with the stuff),
you could always use cooked rice.But if
you haven’t tried quinoa yet, you really should.It’s surprisingly tasty for being so darn
good for you.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
and drained

1 Tbs olive oil

1 ½ cups broth or
water

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs olive oil

Juice of 3 limes
(about 6 Tbs)

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp chipotle chile
powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp Mexican oregano
powder

½ tsp each salt
freshly ground black pepper

1 ear fresh corn,
shucked

1 Roma tomato, finely
diced

1 avocado, dices

1 jalapeno, seeded and
minced

1 green onion, finely
sliced

½ cup cooked black
beans, rinsed and drained

¼ cup cilantro, finely
chopped

Heat a saucepan over
medium heat.Add 1 Tbs olive oil and the
quinoa. Allow to toast for a couple of
minutes, stirring frequently.Add the
broth and salt, bring the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15
minutes.Remove from heat and allow to
stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.Remove lid and fluff with a fork.Allow to cool.

Combine all of the
dressing ingredients in a jar or plastic container with a lid.Cover and shake until mixture comes together.

Cook the corn until
crisp-tender, either in the microwave or by toasting in a skillet (allow to
char slightly).Allow to cool a bit and
then cut the kernels from the cob.

Add the vegetables to a large mixing bowl.Top with the cooked quinoa, followed by the
dressing.Toss to coat.Allow to stand about 15 minutes to allow the
flavors to meld.Serve at room
temperature.

About Me

No journeys of self-discovery here. I pretty much know who I am. No-nonsense (and sometimes brutally honest), I believe in eking everything I can out of this existence.
I’m a hard-core multi-tasker. The word ‘serene’ would never be used to describe me.
I love to create. And whether it’s a character, a painting, or a four-course meal, I pour myself into everything I do.
Welcome to my little corner of the world.
Curtain up.